new hood maybe cf
new hood maybe cf
i am having to get a new hood and was wondering what everyone thought about going carbon fiber, there are the obvious set backs being its lighter so more potential vertical rattle while at higher speeds and its more obvious that is tuned. i am not planning on getting hood vents due to the fact its not a track car nor do i have a garage to keep her in, any thing i should stay away from anything i should look for any and all help welcome
-
centralcoaster33
- Posts: 2769
- Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:41 am
- Car: 240SX #5-1997
- Location: Central Coast, CA
Re: new hood maybe cf
Contrary to popular belief, the CF hood can be painted. A reputable brand won't be rattling. Use hood pins and have nice rubber for the edges, corner bumpers, etc.
-
BusyBadger
- Posts: 4950
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 3:20 pm
- Car: '92 Nissan 240SX
'05 Nissan 350Z
'13 Nissan Juke - Contact:
Re: new hood maybe cf
I had to replace a hood after my serpentine belt broke and dented my hood from the underside. So I've had to do some research/shopping here. Mine was covered under the comprehensive portion of my insurance and in the end I went with an oem hood.
You're far more likely to save money going with a cf hood than you are likely to save any weight, and for the same reason: Nissan hoods are made out of aluminum. You might save a pound or two here and there going with a cf hood, but the oem hood is already pretty light. The only weight savings you're really going to see from a cf hood will be from a dry cf hood, and those aren't cheap at all.
If your car has to live outside you're going to want to protect the hood from uv damage. I'm a big fan of painting cf for this reason. Some other nice jobs I've seen use the base colour of the car at a transparency level where you can see the weave pattern of the cf when you look closely.
You get what you pay for here. Cheap cf stuff is usually an unfinished training wreck, often having poor quality weave, finished & raw edges, bad shaping resulting in uneven gaps when it's installed no matter how much it's finessed I to place. I can't stress enough, don't skimp here. The better hoods will even maintain the ability to use the stock latches so you don't have to deal with hood pins. It makes for a nice streamlined & understated look, especially if it's combined with the paint style I mentioned earlier.
Good luck!
You're far more likely to save money going with a cf hood than you are likely to save any weight, and for the same reason: Nissan hoods are made out of aluminum. You might save a pound or two here and there going with a cf hood, but the oem hood is already pretty light. The only weight savings you're really going to see from a cf hood will be from a dry cf hood, and those aren't cheap at all.
If your car has to live outside you're going to want to protect the hood from uv damage. I'm a big fan of painting cf for this reason. Some other nice jobs I've seen use the base colour of the car at a transparency level where you can see the weave pattern of the cf when you look closely.
You get what you pay for here. Cheap cf stuff is usually an unfinished training wreck, often having poor quality weave, finished & raw edges, bad shaping resulting in uneven gaps when it's installed no matter how much it's finessed I to place. I can't stress enough, don't skimp here. The better hoods will even maintain the ability to use the stock latches so you don't have to deal with hood pins. It makes for a nice streamlined & understated look, especially if it's combined with the paint style I mentioned earlier.
Good luck!
Find Your Forum!